After turning his back on Marvel Comics in
1966, Spider-Man's co-creator took
on work
at ACG, Dell, Warren, and an extended,
critically
lauded stint at Charlton Comics before
finally
moving over to the OTHER Goliath in
the biz,
DC Comics. Steve Ditko's newest creation
was clearly intended to leave as big
an impression
on the reading public as Peter Parker's
alter
ego had just a few years earlier. A
quick
glimpse'll tell you Mr. D had the makings
of a contender on his drawing board.
Look
at that get up! Unforgettable! The
name?
Evocative--can't get it out of my head!
That
maniacal smile and evilly tinged cackle?
Oh yeah, buddy--memorable! The Creeper
had
all the goods to be a big time superstar,
definitely! Except...I, um, have no
actual
memory of any of the STORIES the Clown
Prince
of Confusion starred in!?!.. Admittedly,
there were only a handful, but the
Spider-Man
stories--even some of the Charlton
and Warren
jobs--THOSE I have vivid recollections
of.
Not the Creeper.

Maybe the inherent problem was right there
on the cover of BEWARE THE CREEPER#1--dig
that generic title: "Where Lurks The
Menace?" Where? Certainly not at Paul
Gambi's tailor shop, eh Flash fans? The only
one likely to be menaced by an outfit as
mundane as that would be Mr. Blackwell!?!
And to compound the problem, our baddie goes
by the equally generic nom de crook of "The
Terror"! Why then not call our little
tale "Where Lurks The Terror"?
Or for those of you with an appetite for
compromise, howsabout "Where Lurks The
Menace of The Terror"? By whatever name,
it's not a BAD story, just not one that sticks
with you. The bean-counters were a little
quick to yank the rug out from underneath
a new series during that particular stage
of DC's history, so our friend the Creeper
never got more than a few chances to make
his case on the nation's newsstands. Perhaps
with a little more time, he would've grown
to be something more than the fondly recalled
cult character he ultimately became. If nothing
else, creator Ditko left some typically atmospheric
cover scenes to ease their way deep into
our collective comic collector's consciousness.
And as always, redoing a Ditko affords me
an inordinate amount of fan-boy pleasure.
You might say it's a treat, not a menace!!...